Steely Eyed
by Inuki Ookami
Summary: Jou x Seto Jounouchi, Yaoi, Shounenai: Angst ridden Joey leads a miserable life, until his feelings for Kaiba begin to develop. Can the brunette admit his feelings and pull Joey out of it all, or will the blonde's lifestyle consume him?
1. Chapter 1

**» Steely-Eyed  
**by Inuki Ookami**  
**

**published: **jul » 26 » 07**  
pairings: **seto x jou**  
archive? **ask me**  
disclaimer: **_Yu-Gi-Oh_ & it's characters were created by some guy in japan, i am not in japan, therefore i do not own it.**  
  
« Author's Note »  
**_Experimental gritty fanfiction. Expect Kaiba to make an appearance soon.  
Currently looking for a beta, please e-mail me at aki(underscore)fukashi(at)hotmail(dot)com_

* * *

**Chapter 1 **

**T**he black metal pipe was dimly lit by a flickering incandescent light. The warm, fading glow trailed down, hanging diagonally across a bang of blonde hair and illuminating a soft cheek. The youth was propped up, his leg curled up behind his back as he leaned against the crumbling brick wall. He took a long drag of the cigarette between his index and middle fingers, and then exhaled. For a flickering moment, the end of the stick fired up like coals, and then returned to ash. Thoughts relayed in his head, distinctly, a voice and a face, all mashed up like an old sock, swinging a bottle around in his free hand, reclining on the couch.

"Yer fucking ma, don'tchyuu talk t' me bout thaaafucking cunt!" Jounouchi could still hear the bottle smash a few feet away from him as it made impact with the wall. Brown shards of glass littered the floor, and the remnants of the container stained the ground. The teenager scowled disapprovingly at his father, hesitating for a moment before ripping open the door and slamming it behind himself.

The sky was dark overhead and the lamplight was his only guide down one lonely alley after the next. A few rats stealthily ran along a wall, under cover of darkness. Muttering to himself, the blonde kicked over a metal garbage can. The clanging echoed down the alley. As the can came to a stop, dead silence followed. The boy stood still for a moment, unblinking. He slowly tilted his head to glance around at the backs of houses. Everyone in his neighborhood was asleep. True, he lived in a bad area of Domino City, but the homeless preferred to frequent their own rundown area.

Jounouchi began running. He had no idea where he was heading, but he just kept his legs moving. As he ran, he became aware of a sound sneaking up on him. He turned his head to the side, but in the darkness could not make anything out as golden streaks of hair flew into his eyes. As he tried to turn his head again, the other way this time, his balance was thrown off, and he nearly hit a telephone pole. He swerved to avoid it, and realized the sound he had heard was only his own panting. He tripped on the ground, and fell into the street; his legs sprawled out in front of him. Collapsed on the ground and panting, Jou ran hands through his mussed-up hair. He could feel tears forming the corners of his eyes, but he had no idea why he felt like crying. He sat there for a long time, trying to focus on something else, something other than his awful life, but what else was there?

The sound of an engine grew nearer, so consumed in his own misery was he that the boy had not even noticed it coming. An expensive car with black tinted windows pulled up moments later. the passenger window in the front slid down with a kind of mechanical precision and grace. In the driver's seat was a uniformed man with white gloves.

"How much?" The blonde asked, clambering to his feet and resting his hands on the lower rim of the window as he leaned forward, his shirt taut and revealing his smooth upper chest and long neck.

"Three hundred. And don't put your hands there, you'll soil the new paint job." The driver replied. "Get in the back; he's waiting for you." The man motioned to the side door of the vehicle. Jounouchi reached out and grasped the handle. The door slid open easily under his grip. The interior in the back of the car was luxurious and soft. As he got in, he banged the door shut behind him. The blonde sat stiffly in the seat, aware of the obese older man who sat to his left. A single whiff informed the youth that the older man had a few drinks earlier in the night. The vehicle drove slowly for a short while, then came to a stop under the shadow cast by the side of a building.

It was not long before the touching began. The youth felt fingers caressing his naked arm, traveling across the few fine blonde hairs that rested there. A pudgy hand ran through his hair. The blonde said nothing. A belt buckle was undone, and then a zipper. A forceful hand directed his head downward, and he could saw the man in his glory as he went down. The belly of the man lurched out, the creases of skin folding over each other as his weight shifted around. The old man's pants and underwear were around his ankles. The youth closed his eyes, too sickened to continue to look. As the man forced his way into the teenager's mouth, he grabbed hold of the blonde hair and shoved down. Jounouchi could not breathe and was choking. The boy flailed and ripped himself away from the old man after a few moments.

As the clouds peeled off the moon a few stray silver beams shimmered through the window, lighting up the curve formed as the blonde boy arched his back. In the vehicle, the old man collapsed, his entire body deflating like a balloon losing air. The youth slid off the grotesque figure, sliding his clothing on and doing it back up. The feeling of cool fabric against his fingertips was soothing. When he turned back to look at the old man, a wad of bills lay in his limp hand. The honey-eyed youth snatched them, opened the car door, and stepped out, counting the money. Two hundred forty, two hundred eighty, three hundred- it was all there just as they had discussed. The car leisurely drove off, almost silent in the night. The disgustingly proper driver, well-kept car, and rich old pig would be across town in a few hours, far away from him, he thought with relief.

Jou stuffed the bills into his pocket and trudged forward, his body still remembering the pain. His destination was far, but not terribly so. As he shambled on, he only had one thing on his mind.

"Ya got any blow t'night?" The blonde boy asked.

"Yeah man, I'll charge ya two hundred for an eightball." A man in about his mid twenties replied.

Money exchanged hands, and the man vanished into the shadows. A short while later, Jounouchi was stumbling out of the darkness, his nose twitching slightly. He brushed his arm against his nose, sniffling slightly. Despite everything, he felt good. Really good. He could barely keep from smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**» Steely-Eyed  
**by Inuki Ookami**  
**

**published: **jul » 29 » 07**  
pairings: **seto x jou**  
archive? **ask me**  
disclaimer: **_Yu-Gi-Oh_ & it's characters are composed largely of nutmeg and eggwhites. Please place them in a warm oven for 40 minutes. Whisk briefly and let stand for 2 hours before icing.**  
  
« Author's Note »  
**_Thanks to **TheFemalePharaoh **and **seto'swifey **for the reviews thus far, to everyone else for the favourites and such.  
Any suggestions for plot / critiques are welcome._

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"**H**onda-kun, have you seen Jounouchi-kun around anywhere lately?" The boy with multi-coloured hair inquired, as he came bounding up to his friend. Honda was just closing his locker, his perfectly pointed brown hair swiveling along with his head.

"No, I haven't. I was about to ask you the same question. I've heard some rumours lately..." The brunette began, rearranging the dark blue collar of his school uniform.

"Rumours? What kind of rumours?" Yugi, emotional as always, looked close to tears.

"I think he's been hanging around the Rintama gang again." Honda whispered under his breath, leaning forward and covering the side of his mouth with his hand. Any mention of the Rintama Middle School gang would be certain to have people around them causing a commotion in no time.

"No way! I thought that all of that was over and done with!" Yugi wailed. Honda motioned for the smaller boy to keep his voice down, lest they attract unwanted attention.

"It's just a rumour at the moment, but we can try to check things out ourselves if he doesn't show up soon." Honda explained, as if the situation were completely under control.

-

"Have you ever thought about doing a school shooting?" The black haired Rintama gang member sneered.

"Hn? Whaddaya talkin' 'bout?" The blonde replied, his shaggy hair hanging down the back of his collar.

"You know. Go into school one day with some firearms. Just shoot the place up. Have a little fun. Take down the librarian, or maybe some girl who wouldn't go out with you. Put the nerdy kid in the back of the class that we usually beat up out of his misery. Wouldn't it be glorious? To destroy so many lives, cause so much havoc and terror? Their poor parents wailing during the funeral. So many young lives wasted." The Rintama youth explained.

Jounouchi's hand reached out, quicker than could be seen, and grasped the boy by his throat, slamming him against the wall. Then he slowly approached, cutting the distance between him and the gang member short. His smooth brown eyes leered into the other boy's, who was now convulsing and twitching as his face turned purple. The blonde tightened his grip, and leaned in menacingly. The boy stopped trying to escape, but quivered with fear.

"D'ya even know what the fuck yer talkin' bout? Or 're ya just mout'in' off? I don' like guys who're all talk. 'ave you eva had a gun pointed in yer fuckin' face? Eva felt cold, hard steel against yer cheek? Eva' broken a guy's legs, or punched a guy out cold? I don' think so." With that, the Domino High student slung the other boy the ground. He could hear the body impacting into floor. Neglecting to look down, he spat on the boy, then turned around and sauntered off.

"Scewl shootin'? What a buncha fuckin' children." The blonde muttered as he pulled out a cigarette. A plume of smoke followed his silhouette as it vanished down the street.

-

The next day, Jounouchi attended classes. As he walked down the hallway he saw Honda approaching him.

"Hey man! Are you okay?" Honda greeted him, then leaned in and said a quieter voice "I heard rumours you were getting involved with the Rintama gang again." The boy with the brown spike hair raised a suspicious eyebrow as he spoke.

"Eh? What businiss is it a'yers?" The blonde teen challenged him, hands on his hips as he scowled slightly.

"Sorry man, didn't mean to hit a sensitive spot. I'm just worried 'cause you haven't been showing up for classes much recently. You know, if you keep this up, the teachers aren't going to be too happy with you." Honda replied gently.

"Feh, whadda I care? They neva liked me much ta begin wit." The brown-eyed teen muttered, slinging his hands in his pockets and beginning to trudge away.

"Say, where's Yug gotten ta?" The blonde muttered, slow his pace down momentarily, his head lowered melodramatically.

"I don't know. Is he not here?" Honda remarked offhandedly, seeming already to be more concerned at that moment with his locker combination. The blonde did not reply, but instead walked to the class he shared with the shorter boy with wild multi-coloured hair. Yugi, however, was nowhere to be found.

The blonde was about to sit down when he saw a tall figure in the school uniform step into the room, carrying his signature metal briefcase. He briefly looked around the room, his eyes barely even stopping on the blonde for a brief moment, at which point he let out an audible "Hn". The honey-eyed boy was far too anxious waiting for Yugi to arrive for the brunette's actions to even register in his mind. The very thought of Kaiba sharing a classroom with him sickened him to the very core. Kaiba irritated and agitated the hell out of him. It infuriated the blonde that Kaiba acted as if he could look over a room and in just a fleeting millisecond judge the blonde as being less than worthy of a proper sneer. Nevertheless, Jounouchi had more important things on his mind at the moment than the brunette.

"Where could 'e 'ave gotten ta?" The blonde pondered, just as classes were beginning. It was not like his best friend to be late for class like this, unless it involved some new card game coming out. Was there a card or gaming tournament that he could remember? Nothing in particular came to his mind. "Unless... Honda mentioned Rintama to him... and if I know Yug then he's gone afta some guy six times 'is own size... Shit!" The bell was ringing and so were the alarms in Jounouchi's head as he flew out of the doorframe of the classroom, down the hallway, and out the front doors.

"Yug... just hold on, buddy. I'm coming!" The blonde thought to himself, and to his friend vainly, as though he could somewhere hear him.

-

Jounouchi was running down a gray alley when he saw a bunch of thugs leaning against the wall. Deciding to ignore them, he kept going past one garbage can after the other, only to discover that the alley met a dead end. As he turned around to come back, the other teenagers stood in a row, blocking his way.

"You're from the Rintama Gang, aren't you?" One of the guys grinned, gently patting a baseball bat and smiling menacingly.

"So whadif I am?" The blonde sneered back.

"You're a Rintama Gang member. We don't like Rintama Gang members around these parts." A lankier gang member replied.

"How observant of yas. Can ya see Spot run, too?" The blonde replied, his back literally up against a wall. He was slightly nervous, but decided to hold his ground. He counted five of them. Depending on how good they were with their fists and their weapons, he may or may not be able to take them down. If worse came to worse, he could always try to make a run for it. It would not be terribly cowardly of him, since he had his own agenda, and ganging up five on one was not exactly a fair fight to begin with. Honour, therefore, should not come into play.

"Oooh, a smart-mouth one, eh? I think we're gonna mess you up real good for that." The first guy that had spoken laughed. He was a big guy, and he lurched forward, the blonde boy barely ducking in time to miss the swing of the baseball bat. Another gang member came running at him, but he punched the guy square in the stomach, and the assailant doubled over in pain, collapsing to the ground.

A third gang member came at him and he punched that one square in the jaw, sending him reeling into a bunch of garbage cans, which rattled noisily as they smashed into the ground. Whilst this was happened, the second member who had spoken fumbled with his wrist for a moment, and then came fly at the blonde. The lanky man was extremely fast, almost faster than the blonde. Before it was too late, Jou saw a glimmer in the gang member's hand, and flew to the right. The lanky man only succeeded in creating a gash on the blonde teenager's left shoulder, tearing his clothing and soaking it with blood.

By this time, the larger teenager with the baseball bat had regained his balance and swung again at the honey-eyed boy. There was a loud crack, as the baseball bat made impact with the blonde's back. Jounouchi fell over, his face resting against the dirty alley ground. Wheezing, he clutched his chest for breath as one of the gang members who had recovered from his earlier punches pulled him to his feet and began pummeling his stomach with their own fists.

The blonde sputtered for air; disoriented, he stumbled for a moment, and then punched one of the gang members in the temple. The youth he'd struck plummeted to the ground, as if in slow motion. The blonde-haired boy saw the lanky man coming at him again, but this time he was ready, he dodged the blade, grabbed the man's wrist as he flew by, and twisted hard. An ear-shattering snap followed, and the man with the blade fell the ground, sobbing in pain. His metal weapon clattered to the ground.

"Weak." Jou sneered, drying blood creasing his lips, some fresh red liquid dripping down his chin. "You rely on your weapons more than your own fists." Slowly, he turned around and looked at the larger man with the baseball bat. This was the only gang member still standing. Jounouchi narrowed his eyes, and the man dropped the bat, trembling. After seeing what the blonde had done to the rest of his gang, he decided not to interfere any further.

The blonde boy limped off, the deep gash in his arm still dripping with blood, his back in extreme pain, his stomach sore, and his face all covered in the alley's dirt. He wiped some of the blood off his chin and lips by rubbing his wrist across his face.

"Yug, ol' buddy... I'm sure yer no worse off than me." The blonde muttered to himself as he left the remnants of the rival gang behind him.

-

Jounouchi arrived back at Domino High looking terrible. He had searched around the usual hangouts, but could not find the Rintama Gang anywhere... or any sign of his friend for that matter.

As he approached the school front, he saw the last person he wanted to see: Seto Kaiba. The boy was still in full school uniform and carrying his briefcase. He half-strutted to his private limo which awaited him at the street.

"Asshole." Jou muttered under his breath as he passed by the brunette who looked right through him.

"Decided to skip class again, did we? That's ok; our fine education system is wasted on a second-rate mutt like you." Kaiba replied haughtily as he walked away from the blonde. As if sensing something in the air, both boys stopped in their tracks, still facing away from each other. With pent-up rage inside of him, Jou spun on his heels and pointed an outstretched arm at the brunette.

"Ya think yer so fuckin' cool wit yer car an' yer mansion an' yer company. But why don' you try livin' a day of _my_ life, Kaiba? You wouldn't even last an hour if ya were in my shoes. Sure, ya talk tough like a lota people I know, but when it comes down'ta it, ya have no balls and no personality except fer money." The blonde retorted, and the brunette slowly turned to face him. Kaiba's cold eyes analyzed the situation, as if detecting which buttons to push and when.

"Dogs aren't fit to own money, they just do as they are told." Was the cerulean-eyed boy's cool reply.

"Now is not the time, Kaiba. I have more important things to do." The blonde said matter-of-factly, Yugi coming back to his mind for a moment.

"Like what? Play fetch and chewing on a bone perhaps?" The brunette scoffed.

Something inside of the blonde snapped right at that moment, as he became tremendously agitated just then. His eyes burned furiously, and his hands formed fists as he flew at the other boy. The blonde was quick, but the brunette was quicker. Jonouchi's fists scuffed the other boy's metal briefcase which he held up in defense. The honey-eyed boy came back to his senses for a moment. He knew he had let his temper get the best of him, and sank to the ground in shame.

"Pathetic. Don't bother me anymore, you second-rate duelist." Kaiba sneered, turned around, and walked away. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jou heard a limo door slam shut and the screech of tires as Kaiba's personal vehicle pulled away.

Kneeling in the grass, the blonde raised a hand to his forehead and ran his fingertips along it, beads of sweat dripping off his skin. He and the brunette had their quibbles, but it rarely turned into physical violence. What was going on with him? He tried to shrug it off as frustration from the earlier fight, and anxiety and concern for his friend, but he just was not sure.

Nonetheless, he still had to find Yugi.

-

Trees flew by outside the car windows, but the brunette paid them no mind. Something was troubling him, but he just could not quite put his finger on it.

It was not until much later that night, when he was busy typing something in a dark room at a desk on his computer that it came to him.

"Ya think yer so cool... why don' you try livin' a day of _my_ life, Kaiba? You wouldn't even last an hour if ya were in my shoes... when it comes down'ta it, ya have no balls and no personality." The blonde boy's voice echoed in his head. Kaiba clenched a fist. Was there some truth to the moron's pathetic monologue? Was it not just a simplified version of some deeper worry he'd had throughout his life and career? Could he not rebuild his empire again at any point? It did not help that the last few company proposals made by executives were terrible at best, or that they were slowly losing their consumer-base.

Perhaps most frustrating of all though was the simple fact that he could not remove that irritating voice from his thoughts. With annoyance, he flicked the computer screen off and decided to call it a night.


End file.
